Culture, Food, & Agriculture Anth/Soc 3204 – Spring 2009 Professor: Donna Chollett Office: 205 Imholte Hall Phone: 589-6215 Email: cholledlmorris.umn.edu Office Hours: Monday & Wednesday, 10:30-11:30 1:00-2:00 and by appointment Course Objectives: This course examines the globalization of agri-food systems utilizing political economy and political ecology perspectives to understand global and local dimensions of food production, marketing, and consumption. Emphasis will be on historical, sociocultural, economic, and political dimensions involving relations of power among the various actors in the global food system. The course examines the paradox of hunger in an abundant world, historical processes in the creation of industrialized agriculture, genetic engineering, impacts on health and the environment, and local efforts to achieve sustainability.COURSE REQUIREMENTS: Attendance This course requires substantial reading; with the exception of week 1, please complete the week’s readings before classes begin each week. I reserve the right to add, omit, or substitute readings. Given the volume of material, you are advised to read for breadth and significant insights, rather than detail. Come to class prepared to participate in discussions. The readings will be supplemented with occasional lectures and films, but the primary intent is to create a participatory classroom environment. Class attendance is mandatory; for each unexcused absence, 3.5% of the course grade will be deducted; Students with five unexcused absences will be dropped from the course. • During the course of the semester, an effort will be made to arrange visits to organic/sustainable farms or other agricultural-related enterprises. TEXTS: Paradox of Plenty: Hunger in a Bountiful World 1999 Douglas H. Boucher, Ed. Oakland: Food First Books Stolen Harvest: The Hijacking of the Global Food Supply 2000 Vandana Shiva. Cambridge: South End Press Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal 2002 Eric Schlosser. New York: Houghton Mifflin The Death of Ramón González: The Modern Agricultural Dilemma 1990 Angus Wright. Austin: University of Texas Corn & Capitalism: How a Botanical Bastard Grew to Global Dominance 2003 Arturo Warman. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina ¡Que vivan los tamales! Food and the Making of Mexican Identity 1998 Jeffrey M. Pilcher. Albuquerque: University of New MexicoBook Critiques Four of the above texts, Fast Food Nation, The Death of Ramón González, Corn & Capitalism, and ¡Que Vivan Los Tamales! will complement the other course readings, but may not always overlap. The assigned textbook readings each week will be the subject of a one-page weekly BOOK CRITIQUE PAPER. In this paper, you will identify two significant issues that can generate class discussion. Book critique papers are due each Friday (unless otherwise scheduled). The paper should not exceed 1 page in length, but must reflect your reading of the assigned material. Each BOOK CRITIQUE (12) is worth 10 points. Please formulate your paper in the following manner: I. Issue one A. one possible response to your issue B. an alternative or opposing response II. Issue two A. one possible response to your issue B. an alternative or opposing response Supplemental Readings & Class Presentations Supplemental readings (generally of 15-20 pages each), uploaded to our course web site, compliment the textbook readings assigned on the course schedule. Students will sign up from a list of supplemental readings and carefully read two articles during the semester and present the readings to the class. In other words, you are the facilitator for your articles and will be responsible for conveying the significant issues and insights to the class. STUDENT PRESENTATIONS should be brief, limited to 15 minutes, yet capture the important points either via a “mini-lecture,” power point presentation, handouts, or any other pedagogical media. I will assist with scanning and copying if material is requested well in advance. This will allow all students to benefit from a variety of materials from the growing literature on culture, food, and agriculture, so consider this an exercise in sharing and cooperative learning. Your presentation will be uploaded on the course web site; if you choose not to present a power point, please provide me with an electronic copy of your outline or other presentation material. Each STUDENT PRESENTATION (2) is worth 20 points. All students are highly encouraged to read many of these most interesting supplemental articles. You may access the supplemental readings at: http://www.morris.umn.edu/academic/anthropology/chollett/index.html (academics / anthropology / Chollett / Anth/Soc 3204). The endnotes and reference pages for each article are not scanned; however, a list of the full reference sources may be consulted on the course web page. Note: For the scanned files, the course schedule lists only those pages actually read, not including unscanned reference pages. On a few articles, portions of the article are excerpted to decrease length, thus pages may be missing on the scanned document.Think Pieces To encourage you to learn from the student presentations, required readings from the other two texts, Paradox of Plenty and Stolen Harvest, and any occasional lectures, power point presentations, and films, students will prepare weekly THINK PIECES. The criteria for these will be handed out in advance, and these should be turned in on Friday, along with your book critique. Think pieces should not exceed 2 pages in length. Each THINK PIECE (14) is worth 10 points. Basically, the above-listed requirements are minimal, for their intent is primarily to ensure that you complete all of the readings and think about their content. Your main effort for this course is to critically examine the issues involved in the global food system and reflect on these as you participate in class discussion. The hand-in work should assure me that you have done so. Please word process all your papers. Late papers will not be accepted. Research Paper Each student will research one food item or commodity that will be the basis of a RESEARCH PAPER. Research papers should be 10 pages in length and are worth 100 points. The selection of your food item must be made by Monday of Week 5.